School of Arts and Humanities News

Interdisciplinary Professor Embodies Blend of Arts, Science

For years, UT Dallas has sought to fuse its long-held strengths in technology with the creativity of the arts and humanities. That philosophical blend is embodied by a new professor who is a champion for interdisciplinary academics.

“We face hard problems in society today where we have no choice but for the sciences and the arts and humanities to work together. UT Dallas is taking the lead in creating innovative connections,” Malina said.

In partnership with Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology in San Francisco, Malina and UT Dallas’ Arts and Technology program are starting a project on campus entitled “Leonardo Initiatives.” Leonardo publishes journals, books, websites and projects on evolving digital platforms that aim to document and disseminate information about interdisciplinary work.

Malina is executive editor of Leonardo publications at MIT Press.

The first Leonardo Initiative at UT Dallas is currently under way with the publication of the e-book Arts, Humanities and Complex Networks. This project documents the work of 25 researchers whose work explores the meaning and application of the science of complex networks as it relates to art history, archeology, visual arts, the art market and other areas of cultural importance.

The texts in the publication come from researchers, information designers and artists whose work has been presented at the Leonardo Days at the Network Science conferences, the High Throughput Humanities conference and in the Leonardo Journal.

Malina is a former director of the Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence (OAMP) in Marseille, and a member of its observational cosmology group, which performs investigations on the nature of dark matter and dark energy.